The day after
by mizamiko
Summary: a follow up to sunsets It's the day after and everyone has come to pay their respects to the dearly departed


The day after   
  
by Miza   
  
This morning I found out how important he really was. This morning I   
  
understood. It was true. You really could never say you knew a person, until   
  
you saw the world through his eyes. No matter how well you thought you knew a   
  
person, there would always be something that you don't know about him.   
  
It was an hour yet, as I stood there in the clearing. I knew travel   
  
between worlds was, at best, unpredictable. They could arrive at a given   
  
time, give or take an hour.   
  
I awaited the arrival of that lone ship. The one carrying the body of   
  
this well-known man. I awaited the coming of Kailu Lantis.   
  
The morning had barely begun. The sky was a soft cast of purple and   
  
violet. The air had a soft bite to it that had my body shivering at its   
  
touch. I did not understand why Guru Clef had chosen me to act as Cephiro's   
  
representative. It was an honor and had been a mystery to me. I could not   
  
understand the honor that was given to me. By all rights, this was an honor   
  
meant for the highest-ranking people. It should have been given to Pillar or   
  
Guru Clef himself. But both had declined the right. I did not understand why.   
  
I did not understand until I saw the ship approach. It was one of the   
  
oldest ships surviving in the Autozam fleet. The oldest, slowest, probably the   
  
ugliest now, but it seemed the most appropriate for the occasion. I knew the   
  
sight of this would have brought too many memories. Bittersweet memories that   
  
were painful, almost all of them. It would have been too painful to watch this,   
  
for either of them. It was the NSX.   
  
The NSX was coming in for a landing. The NSX and few hundred more ships I   
  
might add.   
  
To my relief the other ships simply hovered. It was an incredible sight.   
  
All the sleekest ships that Autozam had were in display. Each one was a   
  
veritable destroyer gaily-painted in green and chrome. Each was a masterpiece   
  
of technology. Yet today those great cannons were silent. And as I watched the   
  
nearer ships as they came into view, I saw why.   
  
Black flags.   
  
Black flags adorned the ships. The somberness of the occasion finally hit   
  
me. Every ship that came into view was the same. It was a   
  
procession. A procession befitting the man. Autozam had come to escort its   
  
adopted son back to his homeworld.   
  
As I watched the sky fill with the Autozam fleet, I noticed another fleet   
  
approaching. Two to be exact. Both were trailing after the Autozam   
  
fleet. It was beautiful. The dark dragons that were the ships of Fahren   
  
flanked the Autozam fleet on one side. And on the other, the bright gold sheen   
  
of the Chizetan armada floated in a gravity defying sight.   
  
I had expected some sort of token escorts, but never this. It was like   
  
all three planets had made a an unspoken agreement. And the only planet   
  
left out was Cephiro itself. I couldn't understand it. What had Kailu Lantis   
  
done to deserve this honor? Why was he so important? Yes, he had spear   
  
headed the Autozam project, but then so what? It was not a one-man effort.   
  
Many had helped and planned for every stage of the project. So why this?   
  
As the director of the project, he deserved the honor that was bestowed to him   
  
by the Autozamians, but this?   
  
Then I saw her. Her flame colored hair, unbound, flew in gentle sweeps   
  
behind her. Her long gown, billowing. A concoction made of light   
  
cream cloth and ruby accents, her favorite dress, reserved for special   
  
occasions. There she stood, as youthful as the day I first met her. Hikaru   
  
Shidou, the Pillar of Cephiro, had come to welcome her beloved home.   
  
Her face was a mask of pain and sadness. The usual smiling face was drawn   
  
and bright eyes were shining with unshed tears. After all this   
  
time, she still loved him.   
  
I could still remember the time when she returned to Cephiro. She had   
  
been gone for three years, after the war with Debonair. The planet had   
  
been prospering well. Everything had been rebuilt. With the help of the other   
  
planets and the combined wills of the people, Cephiro had been almost   
  
restored to its former self.   
  
In retrospect, it was after Cephiro had finished its reconstruction that   
  
the Pillar returned. The land had returned to its former beauty. The old   
  
villages had been rebuilt, and the people were slowly returning. In the middle   
  
of all this reconstruction, there was Kailu Lantis. After the loss of the two,   
  
most important persons in his life, he had buried himself in his work. He had   
  
slaved so much that Guru Clef had feared for him. Everyone had started to   
  
worry. Even Commander Geo Metro had started to take measures. It was as if the   
  
Kailu had no other purpose in his life, other than to fulfill the wishes of his   
  
two loves. The Pillar, Hikaru, returned a year later. It was one of the   
  
happiest days in Cephiro. For a time everyone thought that the Kailu would then   
  
return to his old self. The old Kailu that Guru Clef knew. But after a time he   
  
slowly began drifting away again. He still remained faithfully at the Pillars   
  
side but at times he seemed dead even beside her. Everyone knew how much he   
  
loved her. But at times, whenever he thought he was alone, he would stare off   
  
at a distance. He would look so sad, so full of longing. He looked that way   
  
even in front of the Pillar especially when they were in the garden. No one   
  
knew why. All that everyone knew was that he was thinking of his best friend.   
  
But through it all he remained faithful to the Pillar, never leaving her side.   
  
That was until the sudden news from Autozam came through the communication   
  
links. The land was dying.   
  
Autozam needed help fast. Lantis had asked permission to be the one to   
  
represent Cephiro and help. The Guru thought it would be for the best to let   
  
him. The Kailu never returned after.   
  
The NSX slowly settled on the docking bay some ways away and its great   
  
doors opened. Slowly a large carriage rolled out of its hull as several   
  
colours marched around it. Atop the carriage lay a simple coffin, by Autozam   
  
standards. A capsule made of chrome, decked with flowers shone in the   
  
morning light. It slowly rolled towards where we stood but no seemed to comment   
  
on how long it took. It just seemed fitting to have this procession.   
  
The ceremonies went like a blur through my mind. It was solemn, that was   
  
all that I could remember from it. But what I did remember was seeing something   
  
I have never in my whole life expected to see in the face of the Pillar again.   
  
Princess Hikaru was crying. None of us saw her cry when each of her brothers   
  
died, through old age. She didn't even cry when Fuu died a few years after   
  
Prince Ferio died in his accident. It was something that I will never forget.   
  
It is night again. As I write in this journal, I know, I have just   
  
become part of something that may never be seen again by any of the four   
  
planets. Once again I wish I knew what went on the Kailu's head for him to be   
  
driven so. Did he love so much but always hid it in a mask of silence?   
  
Maybe. Maybe someday I will know. But until then I can only guess.   
  
At the last I learned something in this. The greatness of a man can be measured   
  
in many ways. But none the most exact as the number of tears shed by those who   
  
called him friend.   
  
Someday, when my time come, I wish that I will have even a fourth of the   
  
tears that was shed this day.   
  
**********  
  
She stopped writing and replaced the marker on the book she wrote on. She   
  
turned her head to the figure sleeping in the bed behind her. Her blue eyes   
  
shone with sudden warmth at the lavender tressed head that poked out of the   
  
sheets. Gracefully she stood and crawled between the sheets to her beloved,   
  
careful not to wake him.   
  
"Are you okay?" He whispered not even opening his eyes.   
  
"I'm fine," she answered, smiling sadly. "You know what happened. Tell   
  
me... tell me about Lantis."   
  
A pair of sapphires opened and stared at her. It was a sad pair that   
  
seemed to search her own. "It is a very sad story."   
  
"I'd like to hear it. "   
  
"As you wish."   
  
She listened intently as he spoke softly about a tale that was sad and   
  
ended in a way that was not really as sad as she thought it was.   
  
"So they are together, now?" She asked.   
  
"Yes."   
  
"Clef. I'm glad." She answered as she lay her head on his chest.   
  
"So am I." He said, stroking her long blue hair. "I'm glad you came back"   
  
"I'm glad too. I love you."   
  
"I love you too, Umi."   
  
"Go to sleep Clef."   
  
"Yes, Umi."   
  
-End-  
  
December 19,1998   
  
Note all characters in this fic are the property of CLAMP. I just   
  
borrowed them for the night.   
  
Thanks to all of the members of UAWC for bothering with this. To Fuuma-san and   
  
Cleo-chan for sharpening their claws on it. 


End file.
